Health: the most important aspect of human life. Stores are filled with aisles of supplements that claim to revamp your body and improve additional struggles such as focus, hair and nail health, immunity, mood, gut health, and sexual health. Nearby these “dream pills” are gym supplements including pre-workout and energy-raising products that claim to grow muscle faster while burning more fat and keeping you extremely energized all day. These multivitamins and gym supplements grab one’s attention with bright, bold colors and giant font that advertises solutions to their every issue in the form of colorful gummy, and tasty flavors of powder you can mix into anything. Though these supplements taste and sound good, many are not proven nor approved to improve health and may even cause damage, and therefore should not be advertised or sold in stores.
Background Information
Consumers’ habit of mindlessly shopping, especially with health products, raised a conversation about the supplements sold over the counter and whether they’re truly healthy. These discussions lead to discoveries regarding FDA approval and long-term effects masked behind these eye-catching, colorful “miracle” products. The majority of supplements do not explicitly say their FDA status or purposely hide text within the product design. The commonality of these brands being recommended in stores such as Target and Walmart, plus drug stores like CVS and Walgreens, concerns health professionals as consumers tend to ignore the fine print.
Sneaky Ingredients
As of the year 2020, seventy-eight percent of the U.S. food supply is regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, commonly referred to as the FDA. As Americans, we trust the FDA to keep our daily foods and prescription drugs protected and free of harmful ingredients or practices. Most assume that the FDA backs every product in a grocery store, but that is far from the truth. Dietary supplement manufacturers and brands are responsible for maintaining their products and keeping the contents safe and legal. The FDA has little to no regulation of these sellers and cannot step into their territory until there is a reported case of harm caused by their product. This loophole allows many brands to use ingredients that are banned in the U.S. or known for their damaging effects. This is done by using “undercover” words that are vague, most commonly seen as “natural flavors” or “artificial flavors”.
So, these supplements are sold and consumed, but what happens when the FDA finds dangerous ingredients? Most would assume the product would be immediately pulled from the market and a complete recall would be done, but “a 2018 study in the journal JAMA found that between 2007 and 2016, the FDA had identified 746 dietary supplements adulterated with pharmaceuticals, such as steroids or erectile dysfunction drugs, yet voluntary recalls were issued for only 48 percent of them, and the majority of these tainted supplements remained on the market”. The FDA’s lack of authority in the supplement world is cause for concern, especially with the tendency of companies to go against legal regulations and willingly put customers at risk with ingredients known for their damage.
Health Risks
Dietary supplements are expected to enhance health and fix deficiencies, but what happens when one’s health is damaged due to taking them? This scenario happens more often than most people expect, most commonly within the gym and bodybuilding industry. Many bodybuilders and commercial gym go-ers are told taking supplements such as pre-workout, protein powder, and even steroids will speed up their muscle-building process without any dangers. Unfortunately, those who are ignorant of the risks and or eager to make progress, no matter the circumstances, may fall victim to health concerns ranging from high blood pressure to liver cancer.
Referring back to hiding dangerous ingredients, these substances have been banned based on their threat to human and animal health. For example, a stimulant under the name Methylhexnamine, or simply DMAA, is similar to caffeine and increases alertness while burning fat. This substance is also known for narrowing blood vessels which leads to higher blood pressure and health risks from shortness of breath to more serious events, such as heart attack. DMAA is far from the only ingredient used by manufacturers that is known for its extreme health risks.
Additionally, anabolic steroids are associated with reactions such as acne, hair loss, irritability, kidney damage, and stroke. Countless cases of long-term conditions and even casualties have been recorded amongst major bodybuilders and everyday people due to their use of substances that are banned and unregulated. There are even reported cases of death at bodybuilding competitions that result from taking dangerous substances known to heighten senses and energy levels temporarily.
Some may say these ingredients and supplements are useful and critical to building muscle and maintaining good shape, but the cons outweigh the pros. Purchasing products without conducting research and unknowingly impacting one’s health for the rest of their life is not worth short-term physical aesthetics.
Ultimately, those looking to improve their health and fix deficiencies should not fear life-changing reactions due to limited regulation and wanting immediate results. Education on dangerous ingredients and how to spot them within supplements is critical information for the general public. The damaging side of fitness communities that encourage illegal steroid use and take advantage of ignorant gym-goers searching for dietary supplements to aid their health journies must be broken down. These implications are necessary for more people to continue to fall for marketing tactics and be left with life-long damage.
